Choose wisely. Connect locally.Add your business Los Tuxtlas is a volcanic region on the Gulf coast of southern Veracruz, where the northernmost tropical rainforest in the Americas meets crater lakes, waterfalls and dark-sand shores. It is also the land of the Olmecs, with colossal stone heads, and of tobacco fields that supply some of Mexico's best cigars.
Lake Catemaco boat tour
Nanciyaga ecological reserve
Montepío
Eyipantla Falls
+2 more places
Few places in Mexico combine so much variety in such a small area. The Sierra de los Tuxtlas is an isolated volcanic range about eighty kilometres long that rises beside the Gulf of Mexico, and much of it lies within the Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve.
The area is also rich in culture. Early history here was shaped by the Olmecs, and later by Indigenous, African and European influences.
Nature is the other big draw. The reserve shelters hundreds of bird species, with many migrants arriving from the north in winter, and conservation work has even brought scarlet macaws back to the area.
Lake Catemaco is about ten kilometres across and dotted with volcanic islands. Boat tours leave from the waterfront and visit islands where monkeys roam free as part of a university research project. Allow two hours, and agree the route and group arrangements before you board.
Several islands in the lake are home to free-ranging monkeys. Photo: AlejandroLinaresGarcia, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
The town is small enough to explore on foot, with a zócalo, a lakeside malecón and many restaurants. At weekends you may see huapango, a rhythmic dance performed on a wooden platform to guitar and song.
This private jungle reserve on the lake has a hanging bridge over a freshwater spring, kayaks, mud masks and cabins. Its restaurant serves typical Tuxtlas food.
Nanciyaga is a jungle reserve on the shore of Lake Catemaco. Photo: panza.rayada, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
This lagoon lies about twenty kilometres northeast of Catemaco and is reached by rural taxi.
Montepío sits directly on a Gulf beach and has a laid-back, remote feel. Services such as shops and cash machines are limited, so bring cash and supplies.
Montepío lies directly on the Gulf of Mexico beach. Photo: Koffermejia, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
About ten kilometres from San Andrés Tuxtla, this waterfall is forty metres wide and fifty metres high, and is the largest and best known in the region. You can view it from a platform at the top or descend a long staircase to the base.
Eyipantla Falls is the largest waterfall in the region. Photo: Isaacvp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The largest city in Los Tuxtlas is centred on Parque Lerdo, with a kiosk and a cathedral built in 1870. It is the heart of Mexican cigar country, and workshops around Matacapan and Sihuapan are known for their tobacco.
San Andrés Tuxtla is the largest city in Los Tuxtlas. Photo: Adam Jones, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
The main plaza, Parque Juárez, holds La Corbata, the largest Olmec colossal head in Mexico. It is free to see and takes only a few minutes.
The museum houses much of the area's Olmec artifacts, including colossal heads and the Hueyapan Head, in a former town hall built in 1880. Allow about an hour, and check opening days before you go.
This archaeological site and museum lies about twenty-one kilometres from Santiago Tuxtla and was occupied from about 900 BCE. It was contemporary with La Venta and is one of the key Olmec places of Veracruz.
Tres Zapotes was occupied from about 900 BCE. Photo: Arian Zwegers from Brussels, Belgium, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Start in Catemaco with memelas, large tortillas filled with ham, beans or whatever the cook offers. The lake supplies tegogolo, a large freshwater snail native to Lake Catemaco and prized locally as food.
In San Andrés Tuxtla, traditional dishes include puerco al acuyo, along with tamales, frijoles con chonegui and momocho, all based on local ingredients.
Catemaco is the best base for first-time visitors. Most hotels cluster around the zócalo and the lakefront, bus stations are within walking distance, and boat tours leave nearby.
San Andrés Tuxtla is a real working city with more everyday life and fewer tourists.
Montepío is a better choice if you want a quiet beach stay and have your own transport. Services are limited, so arrive prepared.
Where to stay in Los Tuxtlas
Los Tuxtlas is one of the rainiest places in Mexico, with annual rainfall ranging from 1,500 to 4,500 millimetres depending on location.
On the first Friday of March, Catemaco holds its annual witchcraft festival. Santiago Tuxtla celebrates its fair from July 22 to 30, and San Andrés Tuxtla honours its patron saint on November 29 and 30 with parades and mojigangas.
Catemaco lies on Highway 180, about three to three and a half hours south of Veracruz city by car. ADO buses connect Catemaco with Veracruz, Mexico City and Puebla, and the city has separate first-class and second-class bus stations.
Local buses run during the day between Catemaco and San Andrés Tuxtla, and rural taxis called mixtos serve villages such as Sontecomapan. Taxis are plentiful in town, and bicycles can be rented for short rides around Catemaco, where the streets are fairly gentle.
Arrive in Catemaco, walk the malecón and take an afternoon boat tour on the lake.
Spend the morning at Nanciyaga or on Sontecomapan lagoon, then continue to Montepío for a beach afternoon.
Visit Eyipantla Falls in the morning, then see San Andrés Tuxtla and a cigar workshop.
If you have a spare day, return to Lake Catemaco for a slower morning, take a kayak tour or walk in a jungle reserve, and finish with another lakefront lunch before you start the journey north.
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